Join me in my efforts to support National Kidney Foundation of Arizona!

“Hey, can I have your kidney?”

That is not a question I was expecting from one of my best friends in the middle of our annual camping trip. We had already had a few beers around the campfire, and I thought he was kidding! But Eric had recently been diagnosed as a diabetic. He was suffering complications, and his doctor suggested he be prepared in the event that he need a transplant. Maybe he thought a beer or two might increase the chance of me saying yes. But in all reality, how could I say no? We’ve been friends for 14 years. He was the best man at my wedding. If he needed a kidney to live a long and healthy life with his wife and kids, of course I would provide one. I’ve got two, right?

I’m still in the early stages in the matching process, but my limited experience with kidney disease is the main reason I decided to participate in Dancing with the Stars Arizona. Until my friend asked, I never knew how normal of a life you can lead with only one kidney. There are very few restrictions at all! If my public humiliation can somehow increase awareness for the Kidney Foundation, and spread the word that donating a kidney is not nearly the ordeal it is widely believed to be, show me the dance floor!

Of course, there is one other problem. I have about as much experience dancing as I do donating kidneys. I may deliver the news every morning to thousands of people, but the thought of getting up and showing my moves in front of a live audience is petrifying. That’s why I can use all the support I can get. Will you help me spread the word by donating to my team? Every dollar gives me a better chance of winning the competition. And if you buy a table, you can be front and center to cheer us on!

Either way, please stop by www.azkidney.org. Maybe you will be inspired as I have, and find another way to help the cause. Wish me luck!

BIO:
Pat McReynolds joined the CBS 5 Morning News anchor desk in February 2011 after two years as a general assignment reporter and part-time anchor. McReynolds started with CBS 5 News in December of 2009 and is thrilled to once again be close to his family in the Valley.

Originally from St. Louis, Phoenix has been the adopted home of the McReynolds Clan for more than a decade. Pat's award-winning career has taken him all over the United States. He graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1993. While there, he reported and anchored for NBC's KOMU-TV. He then jumped to WGEM-TV in Quincy, Ill., and got his feet wet in the business (literally) as he reported during the devastating Midwest flood of 1993.

At WGEM-TV, Pat reported, produced and anchored, even including stints in weather and sports. After a year in the Midwest, Pat moved to the South, spending just eight months at WLEX-TV in Lexington, KY. While there, he was honored with an Associated Press award for keeping his cool while being shot at live on television. He then headed even deeper into the South to WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Ala. There, Pat was the co-host of the No. 1 rated morning show, "Good Day Alabama."

His series of reports on the corrupt Birmingham Water Works Board helped launch several state investigations. In 2000, Pat moved to the Northwest as a reporter for KING-TV in Seattle. During that stint, Pat garnered six Emmy nominations, including two for best reporter in the Northwest region. He flew with the Air Force during the early days of Hurricane Katrina, detailing the frantic evacuation of victims out of New Orleans.

In 2005, He won his first Emmy and was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists for his series of compelling reports from Iraq, where he showed the plight of U.S. soldiers based in the Northwest. That next year, Pat won another Emmy and his first Edward R. Murrow award for his emotional account of a Seattle photographer who volunteers her time snapping portraits of terminally ill children.

He left the cloudy Northwest for the beach in 2006, anchoring the evening and late news for WTKR-TV in Norfolk, VA. His investigation into a bogus job-placement service prompted the state attorney general to launch a criminal investigation and shut the place down. He also uncovered mistakes within the Norfolk court system that tragically set a convicted criminal free to commit murder. That report forced vital changes in court procedure.

But he always felt a pull to join his parents and siblings in the desert. And it was a smart move. In it's first year, Start Smart CBS5 Morning News was the Emmy for the best morning show in the state. Pat continues to immerse himself into the local culture. He is always exploring what the Southwest has to offer. But most importantly, he continues to bring a voice to those who are denied the basic rights that we all deserve.